Transpontine

South East London blogzine - things that are happening, things that happened, things that should never have happened. New Cross, Brockley, Deptford and other beauty spots. EMAIL US: transpontineblog at gmail.com Transpontine: 'on the other (i.e. the south) side of the bridges over the Thames; pertaining to or like the lurid melodrama played in theatres there in the 19th century'.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

It was the opening night tonight of 'House of Covvens' at Harts Lane SE14 (the road next door to Sainsburys).

Conceived by artist Jodie Chinn, House of Covvens is 'an imagined political system based on empathy, inspired by ideas and practices found in Wicca, shamanism and the Riot Grrrl Movement...

From the new to the full moon (15th-29th May), ‘House of Covvens - South East London’ will create a space for local people to come together, reflect, tell stories and share ideas against the backdrop of the current social climate. It will be centred around a series of ten group discussions called ‘Covvens’, which, through their structure aim to create a non-hierarchical, communal exploration of ideas and social issues using both conversation and creativity'

The Harts Lane space was decorated with foliage gathered during a herbalist-led expedition to Nunhead Cemetery earlier in the day, and included a sound performance to mark tonight's New Moon from Chloe Owen - a soothing piece with synth tones, violin and singing bowl, felt like a sound bath after the day I'd had at work.

There will be discussions and more performances over the next two weeks, culminating with the full moon on the 29th. Further information at House of Covvens and on facebook﻿

Friday, May 11, 2018

Chartist Ancestors is an excellent ongoing project aiming to document participants in the Chartist movement, arguably the first modern mass working class political movement in the UK, which fought to extend the vote during the mid-19th century. As part of its work, Chartist Ancestors makes freely available a databank (excel spreadsheet) which currently includes details of more than 14,000 people believed to have been supportive of the movement in one way or another. I have had a first look for South East London Chartists (searching under Deptford, Lewisham, Peckham, Old Kent Road, Camberwell, Greenwich).

The following are included because they subscribed to the Chartist National Land Company (1846-51). This was a largely ill-fated scheme which aimed to give industrial workers the chance to settle on the land and become small farmers - a side effect being that as landowners they would have the vote.

First name

Surname

Occupation

Address

Thos

Allchin

Engineer

3 Ann St Coburgh Rd Old Kent Rd

William

Batchelor

Gas Fitter

2 George Town Nr Deptford

Henry

Bigg

Cooper

Broadway, Deptford

Eliza

Booker

Mantua Maker

6 New Cottages Peckham Rye

Elizabeth

Booker

Mantua Maker

6 New Cottages Peckham Rye

Thomas

Daley

Labourer

39 Butchers Row Deptford

Frances

Danbridge

Sempstress

Elliott Sq Deptford

Elizabeth

Darling

no trade

17 George St New Town Deptford

Jacob

Durham

Labourer

Manor Farm Lee Deptford

Edmond

Earl

Labourer

Frenches Field, Deptford

Thomas

Elliott

Baker

Friendly Pla, Lewisham Rd, Greenwich

Walter

Frier

Engineer

6 Church St Deptford

Thomas

Gould

Shoemaker

3 Cornbury St Old Kent Rd Camberwell

Thomas

Grovenor

Labourer

25 New St Deptford

James

Guthrie

Labourer

1 New Court New St Deptford

Fred

Jeffrey

Labourer

3 Thomas St Old Kent Rd

Thomas

Jones

Basket Maker

53 New St, Deptford

Frederick

Leffevir

Cordwainer

3 Thomas St Old Kent Rd

John

Martin

Labourer

Black Horse Bridge Deptford

John

McCartney

Blacksmith

39 Butcher Row Deptford

Joseph

Morgan

Tallow Chandler

29 Butcher Lane Deptford

Benjamin

Munday

Wheelwright

7 Lucas St New Town Deptford

Edward

Murall

Cordwainer

Feversham Place Peckham

James

Newbery

Currier

3 Arms Pla, Old Kent Rd

Jabez

Nicholls

Labourer

2 Mason St Old Kent Rd

Frederick

Russell

Gardener

Avenue Rd Lewisham

John

Small

Cordwainer

11 Feversham Place Peckham

William

Small Jnr

Cordwainer

11 Feversham Place Peckham

William

Small Snr

Cordwainer

11 Feversham Place Peckham

James

Taylor Jnr

Labourer

25 New St Deptford

James

Taylor Snr

Labourer

25 New St Deptford

John

Thomas

Gardener

55 New St Deptford

John

Tinsley

Blacksmith

Lewisham Rd Greenwich

James

Wallage

Shoemaker

12 Castle St Old Kent Rd

Joseph

Weatherhead

Gardener

Church St Deptford

Robert

Wells

Clothier

Flagon Row Deptford

Letitia

Whiting

no trade

4 New Cott Peckham Rye

Henry

Whiting

Carpenter

4 New Cott Peckham Rye

George

Whittington

Miller

9 Avenue Sq Lewisham

Two Deptford Chartists are also identified as being on the General Committee of the 'Friend of the People' newspaper in 1869/70: James W Dean and Joseph Morgan. Although address details are not given it seems likely that this is the same Joseph Morgan listed above as a Tallow Chandler (candlemaker) living in Butcher Lane, Deptford.

From the groundbreaking black radical magazine, Race Today (May 1975), a report on 'the atmosphere of tension that has gripped the comm...

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